March 19th, 2012

Kaiju - [Special] MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #100.2

[Special] MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire #100.2

The past two years have been an interesting time for MakeItGood and FatKidOnFire. It took a while to find our ‘feet’ in the series – but after a while we settled on the deep end of the 140bpm sound and have (on and off) stayed true to it in the past 100 features. So it made sense to celebrate reaching the 100th with two producers who, we think, are flying to flag for dubstep. None of this brostep or tearout rubbish – although both have their place in the genre that dubstep’s turned into – but with large, empty soundscapes and a bassline that’ll rattle windows out of their sockets.

These guys shot to my attention with a half hour mix for PYC Sessions – a mix that reaffirmed my belief in the dubstep sound. I wasn’t surprised when I heard that their debutrelease (it’s hard to believe that these guys have yet to see a release with the productions they’ve been pushing) was on Kryptic Minds’ imprint, Osiris Music. When the artists we originally had lined up for #100.2 pulled out, Kaiju stepped up to fill the spot – and fill the spot they did…

Who and what is Kaiju? J: Kaiju is two people; me and Paul here.

P: Hi!

What got you into mixing, producing and supporting dubstep? How would you describe your production style? J:We met via a dating agency and it went from there really…

P: We’ve both been producing for a little bit and met in the land of DnB. Both of us made stripped back bass-orientated stuff and thought we’d try some 140bpm about a year ago. We instantly found our style suited the deeper darker side of things and we really liked the space that was available dynamically in the genre – so started making more and more.

J: I worked at a certain record store and happened to meet Si from Kryptic Minds one day whilst on the job (so to speak), and gave him a CD. He was really into our stuff and we began to talk more about being part of the label and here we are today. But sound wise, I’d just say we like bass, the deeper the better.

How do you go about building your tunes – is there a process behind each one? What software do you guys use? J: We live in different areas so most of our stuff is started over AIM and passed back and forth. With me there isn’t really a strict process when I sit down to make beats, sometimes I have a little idea but other times I will just throw sh!t at Logic and see what sticks.

P: I’m pretty much the same to be honest, the main difference being I use Sony Acid (which is a bit random but still does the job). But yeah, I usually find having too much of an idea in your head stops you experimenting; just find a sample/ sound you like, get a vibe going and run with it.

There’s a resurgence of producers pushing ‘the deep and dark’ dubstep sound. Do you think we’re lacking fresh sounds/ ideas on the deeper end of the 140bpm spectrum? We definitely think that the whole dungeon thing has maybe enforced a type of sound in the deeper darker areas – but there’s so much awesome music out there at the moment that it’d be rude to say the scene’s lacking ideas. I think it kind of stems from people coming into the scene by listening to FKOFwits like Skrillex and then when they get bored they go exploring. So I spose the resurgence is a little bit of a backlash to popular trends perhaps?

You’ve seen support from quite possibly some of the finest artists in dubstep yet you’re still pretty new to most of us, what’s been your highlight so far? It has to be the ‘Close Break‘ thing at System. To have a tune rewound at such a legendary event was a very humbling experience. So big shout to Vivek for that one.

Who are your top 5 dubstep producers at the moment – who’s tunes are setting the dances off?

What’s the future of dubstep – where do you see the genre going? Is dubstep ‘dead’? J: I bloody hope it isn’t dead! The contents of my inbox contradicts that massively. To be completely honest I couldn’t tell you, as a sound it’s always evolving and taking ideas from different areas.

P: I think is in a good place at the moment, especially the deeper/ darker sound. So much good music out there if you’re willing to look for it…

Any forthcoming releases we can look forward to? Any plans for an album? We’ve got our first release for Osiris Music UK on the 2nd of April, and we’re talking with Si about our next release but we just need to keep doing what we do. We’ve got things on the go with Thelem, Biome, and some other projects that we dont want to jinx for now! Just keep looking out for news from Osiris.

Have you got any advice to upcoming DJs/ Producers for getting their music heard? Have you got any production tips for new producers getting started with the genre? J: Patience is key. Keep making music even when you think no one is listening.

P: Just make something you would like to hear, and most of all make sure your tunes get to the right people, don’t send them everywhere.

Any shoutouts before we round things off? There’s so many people that we’ve met in such a short space of time that I’m bound to forget people so I’ll keep it brief. Props to Si & Leon Kryptic and all the fam – and anyone that’s nodded their head to one of our tunes!

What 2 items would you have with you in a zombie apocalypse? J: Quarter of skunk and a shotty.

P: ^^^ This.

Is Godzilla real? Probably not but there’s a little bit of him in all our tunes.

Perverse’s Brett put me in touch with Kaiju’s J when I was looking for a replacement #100.2 (chur for that, cuz) and I was amazed when J said they’d be up for doing a mix. And the mix the guys put together is quite possibly the best hour the MakeItGood x FatKidOnFire series. Without a doubt.

Get it on the download, get it on the biggest stereo you can find and turn it up. This is what dubstep is all about.

If you have any thoughts on what Kaiju have had to say, or anything else you’ve seen – maybe you’ve got someone to recommend to FKOF or seen something you think we’d like? Get in touch via email, Twitter, Facebook or the FKOF TakesQuestions page.